I wasn't suggesting that you personally posted anything abusive . I was answering your post as to what I was basing my previous post on .A lot of the poor posting was done on the Mcarthy board which got deleted by MODs

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couldhavebeen If you're going to start hurling about accusations of abuse, kindly name the poster or posters you're referring to.

Making unfounded allegations of abuse is just plain wrong - and the fact that you're doing it in a noble attempt to defend Allikat does not make it right.

The posts on the Cam MacCarthy thread (now locked) that were deleted were not deleted for being abusive of Allikat and thus breaking the rules. As Allikat explained, they were deleted for being rude about Freo-hating trolls, thus being off-topic and for that reason breaking the rules.

Having just read this thread I feel a little lost for words.
I have never received a warning or infraction (must try harder in 2016) but what I have seen in this last year has been a certain degree of omnipotence being wielded by some mods.
And then none when it's been needed.
I feel that this is our board and from what I've seen the consensus is that the rules need refinement ( I like Clems Knee post...it works for me). A number of posters, who I've come to respect for their opinions, seem to be of the same opinion.
I didn't see any posts that I thought were over the top in that thread by anyone but it is interesting that apparentlydead is back when he was supposed to have got two weeks. I would like to know if the mod who infracted him has been advised he or she made a mistake and whether the word "sorry" was included in the advice to him that he was no longer suspended?

Whilst I'm here and on topic for once if Allikat has been subjected to name calling on PM or any other way then the posters should be held responsible for that.

No, bushie was not banned by the mods. He specifically requested to me that he be removed.

As for the reasons behind it, it's no secret that bushie hasn't seen eye to eye with regards to some of the moderation here recently. We've had discussions with him privately about his grievances. Some of those grievances, in particular around the presence of a few opposition posters who have been trolling, have been largely addressed now.

However, he's made a judgement call that things are still not as he'd want them, so he's made a choice to not participate for a while.

I want to address some of the other things that have been raised here recently. Have opposition posters been given too much rope? Admittedly with the McCarthy saga, there were an influx of a few; one of those in particular actually turned out to be a much-banned Freo poster dressed up as a West Coast supporter, and they're not going to be back on this board, ever. But overall, as a Super I receive all post reports from all boards and I have not noticed a disproportionately high number of reports of non-Freo posters trolling this board as compared to opposition posters trolling any other team board.

Tayl0r and Allikat are new to the mod game, and Seppo has not been around much recently- as happens to us all sometimes- because of his private life being even busier than normal. That's left only Righteo of the experienced hands, and that has happened to coincide with some of the recent unrest on the board here. Righteo has been in a position where has had to shoulder much of the load while not heaping too much on the new girls, as that wouldn't be fair on them at this stage.

There's something else that needs to be kept in mind. It has always been the case that there is a line as far as public discussion of moderation. goes. This is not a recent thing. During the last month or so, for various reasons this has happened repeatedly and despite warnings to cease, it hasn't. So, that's what the vast majority of deletions have been about. That, and keeping threads on topic. What's the point of a thread supposedly about McCarthy being taken completely off topic by pages of discussion about moderation? Apart from being against the edict of going over the line of public discussion of moderation, it's also pretty hard for those who want to simply discuss football to do so in that environment.

Like any team board, of course Freo supporters should be getting more latitude on their home board than others. But when you believe they are stepping over the line, please do the right thing and report them. And give these mods a chance, please.

Mods should always be open for feedback, but in the appropriate fashion; PM them if you have concerns. Or PM Supers and Admin if you have a concern which you'd rather not discuss with the mod/s in question.

Having countless threads derailed is not the way for these issues to be resolved.

couldhavebeen If you're going to start hurling about accusations of abuse, kindly name the poster or posters you're referring to.

Making unfounded allegations of abuse is just plain wrong - and the fact that you're doing it in a noble attempt to defend Allikat does not make it right.

The posts on the Cam MacCarthy thread (now locked) that were deleted were not deleted for being abusive of Allikat and thus breaking the rules. As Allikat explained, they were deleted for being rude about Freo-hating trolls, thus being off-topic and for that reason breaking the rules.

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Firstly I have accused no one .Secondly I was stating my support for Allicat . Thirdly Allicat in her post made the statement about abuse so if you want names then your asking the wrong poster . I like a number of posters never got to see all of the refered to posts because of the deletions so I accepted her post on face value and that she had no reason to put forward false information . I will always support a Fremantle poster who is getting abused on the boards if it is unjustified or personal .

1. I would say that because it's true. I'm talking about the entire site. The "Ballantyne Rule" isn't peculiar to this board.

2. It's not opinion, it's objective fact. We can see infraction history and view each infraction. Serial offenders usually have their own thread on the mods board/cigar lounge.

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1. No. "It's completely reasonable" is an opinion. Which is completely wrong, in my opinion.

2. Clearly being on the mods board gives you more transparency than we get. But in the last year this board has been overrun by trolls. People who only come on to post negative and inflammatory content. The talk on the Cam McCarthy thread was very mild compared to what we have had to put up with. "I miss Bushie" was a common refrain among respected posters on this site, because he did what the mods were unwilling or unable to do - chase away the trolls. I wonder if that information is in the Bushie thread on the Mods board.

No, bushie was not banned by the mods. He specifically requested to me that he be removed.

As for the reasons behind it, it's no secret that bushie hasn't seen eye to eye with regards to some of the moderation here recently. We've had discussions with him privately about his grievances. Some of those grievances, in particular around the presence of a few opposition posters who have been trolling, have been largely addressed now.

However, he's made a judgement call that things are still not as he'd want them, so he's made a choice to not participate for a while.

I want to address some of the other things that have been raised here recently. Have opposition posters been given too much rope? Admittedly with the McCarthy saga, there were an influx of a few; one of those in particular actually turned out to be a much-banned Freo poster dressed up as a West Coast supporter, and they're not going to be back on this board, ever. But overall, as a Super I receive all post reports from all boards and I have not noticed a disproportionately high number of reports of non-Freo posters trolling this board as compared to opposition posters trolling any other team board.

Tayl0r and Allikat are new to the mod game, and Seppo has not been around much recently- as happens to us all sometimes- because of his private life being even busier than normal. That's left only Righteo of the experienced hands, and that has happened to coincide with some of the recent unrest on the board here. Righteo has been in a position where has had to shoulder much of the load while not heaping too much on the new girls.

There's something else that needs to be kept in mind. It has always been the case that there is a line as far as public discussion of moderation. goes. This is not a recent thing. During the last month or so, for various reasons this has happened repeatedly, despite warnings to cease, it hasn't. So, that's what the vast majority of deletions have been about. That, and keeping threads on topic. What's the point of a thread supposedly about McCarthy being taken completely off topic by pages of discussion about moderation? Apart from being against the edict of going over the line of public discussion of moderation, it's also pretty hard for those who want to simply discuss football to do so in that environment.

Like any team board, of course Freo supporters should be getting more latitude on their home board than others. But when you believe they are stepping over the line, please do the right thing and report them. And give these mods a chance, please.

Mods should always be open for feedback, but in the appropriate fashion; PM them if you have concerns. Or PM Supers and Admin if you have a concern which you'd rather not discuss with the mod/s in question.

Having countless threads derailed is not the way for these issues to be resolved.

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Thank you for this explanation.

Raises a few points:

We as Fremantle posters need to report issues more often.

Public discussion of moderation continues to happen when there is no satisfaction or resolution of an issue. This thread would probably have been a better place to post in the first or second place.

We get West Coast supporters dressed up as Freo supporters all the time. They really suck.

I look forward to seeing Bushie return to this board, perhaps when there is more football to discuss.

No, bushie was not banned by the mods. He specifically requested to me that he be removed.

As for the reasons behind it, it's no secret that bushie hasn't seen eye to eye with regards to some of the moderation here recently. We've had discussions with him privately about his grievances. Some of those grievances, in particular around the presence of a few opposition posters who have been trolling, have been largely addressed now.

However, he's made a judgement call that things are still not as he'd want them, so he's made a choice to not participate for a while.

Thank you for the explanation and the depth of your reply .
We all need to take a big breath . Not being aware of the conversations taking place behind closed doors didn't help me understand what was happening or why .
Clems knee has raised some valid points that need addressing and I look forward to the outcome .

Doss thanks for that reasoned and thorough explanation of the thinking and machinations behind the scenes that we are not privy to. For mine, there would be a lot less angst on our board if mods were more open in explaining breaches or unacceptable behaviour. I'm suggesting that in open forum a mod could say "Poser x, you are sailing close to the wind in regards to personal abuse / innuendo or whatever". The poster could then take the matter up in private with the mod or an admin if they thought they were being unfairly dealt with. In this way we are all educated on what the expected standards are, and if a poster chooses to ignore a clearly targeted (as opposed to a general "keep it on topic") warning then that is a risk they run.

Too often we see particular behaviour - call it trolling - accepted over and over, then arbitrarily a mod will make the decision to delete posts or close a thread. The blanket explanation of "off-topic" or "abusive" posts does not really give us a lot to go on - unless we are all expected to sit back calmly and allow opposition posters and pretend Freo trolls to say what they want on our threads. Perhaps highlighting some examples of the unacceptable behaviour would be of some assistance.

As far as reporting posters, I can honestly say I have never reported a poster or a poster in my short time on here. I think this is because we (our generation) were always taught to fight our own fights and NEVER dob someone in. I guess that was pre-internet and the rules have changed.

Certainly not bashing mods as they are doing a service for us all, and I am thinking it is a pretty thankless task for them. I certainly appreciate the time that they give up to help us all, I just thought I'd share my thoughts on what seems to have been a very unhappy couple of days on our board.

I share with most of the others on here in wishing Bushie a speedy return to the board.

Haha maybe prolonged wasn't the right word... But after a few top 4 finishes and starting last season without a loss there was a definite change in some Freo fan’s mindsets. I have always had a sense of pride in the understated happy-go-lucky attitude of our fans, and that attitude is created from the struggle our fans have endured over losing so much and never having too high expectations. The struggle (not just in footy) in a broad sense of the word always gives you a sense of compassion and clarity that winning and expectation can’t give.

Disclaimer - Whilst enforcing the rules we will take into account the different histories of each poster and the context of discussions. This can lead to irregularities with moderating at different times and different moderators.

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And the explanation of what this meant (tongue in cheek but still true)

There's something else that needs to be kept in mind. It has always been the case that there is a line as far as public discussion of moderation. goes. This is not a recent thing. During the last month or so, for various reasons this has happened repeatedly and despite warnings to cease, it hasn't.

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Curious, Why should moderation not be discussed or the implementation of it or really the lack thereof?

Kinda sounds abit elitist, surely Mods are here to serve us posters not us them.

You can improve them no doubt, but the interpretations will always differ as mods will view things differently depending on the issue and who is involved and the mood of those involved. Like it or not, that is how modding works.

I wrote the disclaimer to illustrate the point that's it's not consistent.

Posters who have a history of causing trouble will attract the mods attention more than others. This won't change by altering some words here. The disclaimer actually lays bare some of the truths to applying the rules.

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I think you also must be man/woman enough to admit that sometimes you will get a hard on for a certain poster, it is human nature that some people will rub you up the wrong way.

Whilst I'm here and on topic for once if Allikat has been subjected to name calling on PM or any other way then the posters should be held responsible for that.

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The poster was held responsible. Bushie was banned. No-one else was warned or penalized in that regard. Certainly I wasn't. Neither were any of the other main protagonists in the discussion.

But as the admins have now ruled, Bushie should not have been banned. The whole kerfuffle was caused by some mods getting flustered, seeing personal attacks and abuse where there were none. It's therefore time to put an end to any suggestion that Allikat was being subjected to name-calling by PM or otherwise. The accusation was made in a post written before the Admins' ruling. Not a single Admin or SuperMod has lent an iota of credence to that claim.